Category Archives: In The Biz

Tekkorp, the new SPAC on the block

Pointing out an unsustainable investment frenzy is a thankless task. By its very nature, a frenzy means that there is easy money to be made. That’s why investors pile into it. Then it begins to feed on itself, as more interest yields more investment, yields more interest and so on. Pointing out that this may not be sustainable is an open invitation to getting yelled at. And it really does not matter what the economic environment is. The entire world could be shut down for half the year and it really makes no difference. As long as the money is flowing, the mania will continue on and on until one of two things happens. Either the money stops flowing from the source, or all value is stripped from the money regardless of whether it is flowing or not.

Twenty years ago we had an absolute frenzy in IPOs. The number of IPOs that hit the public markets at the peak in 1999 was 486. In the 20 years since, we haven’t gotten close to that peak.

Most of these 486 were companies that never made any money. They just had a name that ended in dot com, and from that alone they were able to draw funds. Now, 20 years later, we have millennials who were babies and toddlers the last time this happened, with no experiential understanding of what was going on at the time. On top of that, we have orders of magnitude more money pouring into the system from central banks than we did back then, supercharging the trend to heights of dizzying potential.

Given all that, this time the urgency to get into the IPO game as fast as possible is irresistible to entrepreneurs, and so I cannot fault any for jumping through all the hoops as fast as possible to get to the front of the public trading line. This time around, it’s not even the IPO proper that is leading the charge. It’s a special kind of IPO, an express lane so-to-speak. It’s an IPO called a special purpose acquisition company, a SPAC, that makes it to the public markets without even having a business plan. Its sole purpose is to serve as an empty shell to be filled with any business it may choose to acquire, with all the money and trust provided by investors. It is by far the fastest way to become publicly traded. At least the dot coms of the late 1990s had to have the pretense of having a business plan. SPACs don’t even have to do that much.

NatWest intros 48-hour time-out for lifting gambling transaction block

UK problem gamblers will have to wait 48 hours before bankers NatWest will let them deactivate a block on debit card gambling transactions.

On Monday, NatWest announced that customers who activate the debit card gambling block feature on the bank’s mobile app will require a 48-hour ‘cooling off’ period before being allowed to once again use their card for gambling transactions.

The new time-out mirrors a move announced by NatWest rival Barclays in September, although Barclays’ cooling-off period extended for 72 hours. The change followed a study by the GambleAware charity that suggested introducing more ‘friction’ into the process for customers looking to get back into the gambling game after a self-exclusion decision.

NatWest said internal data showed that it handled fewer gambling transactions as the UK’s COVID-19 lockdown took effect this spring, although the number of transactions began to creep back up following the lifting of these restrictions. (UK Gambling Commission surveys revealed that gambling activity underwent an initial surge but slowed in August, so this appears to be a ‘choose your own adventure’ scenario.)

Dodgers Heavily Favored Over Rays In World Series Odds Posted By MyBookie

Credit: Flickr/MaxMena

The Tampa Bay Rays have never won a World Series. The Los Angeles Dodgers are one of baseball’s most successful franchises overall – and are in the Fall Classic for the third time in the past four years, but they haven’t won a title since 1988.

One drought will end as the teams meet in this year’s World Series starting Tuesday from Globe Life Field in Arlington, TX.

MyBookie’s Head Oddsmaker David Strauss lists the Dodgers as -210 series favorites after leading the majors in wins during the regular season. The Rays are +160 underdogs.

For full World Series Odds visit mybookie.ag/sportsbook/mlb/world-series

World Series Expert Analysis from MyBookie Head Oddsmaker, David Strauss

The Dodgers have been a juggernaut all season. Once LA acquired Mookie Betts from Boston in February, the Dodgers became the odds-on World Series favorites. They did not disappoint, racing to a 43-17 record and posting a plus 136 run differential – both the best in baseball, by far.

The Dodgers are back in the World Series for the third time in four seasons, the first team to do that since the Yankees in 2000, 2001 and 2003.

The Dodgers’ NLCS roster included 12 players who have been All-Stars in their careers, for a total of 26 appearances. The Rays’ roster features just four All-Stars with five appearances.

To most fans, the Rays are an anonymous bunch. They opened the season ranking 28th in the majors in payroll. The only team to reach the World Series since 1998 with a lower ranking? The 2008 Rays.

Regardless of the unique paths each organization has taken to this point, they’re both league champions, and either team would make worthy World Series champs. So, who’s going to win it all?

David Strauss Series Prediction Dodgers in six games (+350)

Tampa Bay may be the only team to match the Dodgers’ depth, but LA’s stars will prove to be too much for even the Rays to overcome. Expect the Dodgers to finally exercise their demons and win their first title in more than 3 decades.

SERIES PRICES | MLB – Oct 20 | MLB WORLD SERIES PRICES

Rays Win Series: +160
Dodgers Win Series: -220

RAYS VS DODGERS – WHEN WILL SERIES FINISH?

GAME 4 +550
GAME 5 +250
GAME 6 +200
GAME 7 +200

Strategic Partnership Between GammaStack and LSports

GammaStack, the leading sportsbook platform provider, has announced a collaboration with the world-leading provider of real-time sports data, LSports.

This marks the beginning of a promising partnership. GammaStack is an iGaming Technology company offering solutions and services to clients spread across the USA, Europe & Africa. Their core offerings include ready to launch platforms and custom software development services for sportsbooks, fantasy sports and online casino operators.

The sportsbooks delivered by GammaStack are GLI certified and licensed by Curaçao Gaming Control Board. High-end customizations, robust backend, and unique engagement models along with a strong team of 270+ developers differentiate GammaStack from others in the market.

Following this new agreement, they can now offer their customers the most comprehensive sports data feeds in the business.

LSports has quickly positioned itself as a top odds feed supplier next to generating innovative solutions to ease the bookmakers’ work and offer them a variety of services to increase fan engagement and user retention.

Their comprehensive feed covers a monthly average of more than 35,000 in-play fixtures, 105,000 prematch fixtures, and more than 1,400 markets across 60 different sports (Soccer, Basketball, Tennis, Cricket, Esports, Horse Racing, and more).

“Our collaboration with GammaStack sets us on a new and exciting road,” says LSports VP Sales Yoav Ziv. “As we continue to produce the most efficient and comprehensive solutions for the sports betting industry, we believe that our joint efforts will support both us and GammaStack with our continuous strive to supply our customers with the best possible products.”

GammaStack’s CEO Mr. Gaurav Soni says, “We are excited with this deal and are looking forward to working closely with LSports team. With this collaboration, we are committed to achieving higher standards of services to our sportsbook operators and exceptional betting experiences for the end-users.”

Combined with GammaStack’s platform and LSports API, the new platform proves to be an unstoppable machine.

FansUnite lock in esports betting partnership with Pinnacle Solution

Canadian technology and gaming firm FansUnite announced that it would be partnering with Pinnacle Solution to provide odds on esports bets for its Chameleon Gaming Platform partners. The long-term strategic partnership means that FansUnite will be expanding its esports betting products, in what has become a highly competitive marketplace in 2020.

Pinnacle solution currently has a partnership with GRID esports to provide data and odds for esports leagues and tournaments across the globe. The move is expected to give FansUnite access to GRID’s contracts for several major esports events.

FansUnite CEO Scott Burton expressed his excitement over the partnership with Pinnacle on the company’s website:

“We aim to partner with the leading companies in the industry to provide the best product and options to our customers using the Chameleon Platform. With Pinnacle’s addition and their relationship with GRID Esports, we continue to add the best esports betting data available with the most markets and the best odds. It’s exciting to be the first to offer Pinnacle Solution’ service and we are honoured they chose to work with us.”

French Open victory sees Nadal equal Federer’s 20 Grand Slam titles

Two of the three greatest male tennis players in history met on the clay of Roland Garros’ Philippe Chatrier court for what may prove to be the most important finals of their lives on Sunday as Rafael Nadal beat Novak Djokovic in straight sets to win his 20th Grand Slam title.

With the race on between the two men – and Roger Federer of course – to be called the greatest of all-time (or GOAT), Nadal knew that if he won, he would draw level with Federer on 20 Grand Slams, while Djokovic could reach 17 titles with victory, bringing him to within swinging range of Nadal’s 19 Grand Slam wins before this match.

That Nadal won 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 with comparative ease says just how well the Spanish player played against his fiercest recent rival in his career.

After this match, Djokovic and Nadal have now played 56 games against each other in their careers, and while this match only reduced Nadal’s deficit in total to 27 wins and 29 defeats, in Grand Slam terms, the Spaniard is the man. With a record of 9-6 against Djokovic and 10-4 against Federer, Nadal has reigned supreme against two opponents who have been at their absolute peak across separate halves of his own career.

Wedge Index For US Gaming States Launches

A new rating system of gaming accessibility for each US state based on the regulated gambling options available to consumers called Wedge Index has been launched.

The Wedge Index was featured on ESPN.com/chalk and is set to become the standard ratings index for sports bettors/ gamblers in the country.

The Wedge Index will be used to keep a running score of the changes affecting every state across the US when it comes to gaming.

The Index is easily accessible for news and media outlets to use as a free resource when talking about the burgeoning progress of state-by-state sports-betting and online gaming.

The Wedge Index score is calculated according to a large number of criteria including whether a state has land-based casinos, sports-betting, online gaming and other factors such as the number and quality of brands operational in the state.

“We think this adds some further context to the ongoing debates in the US around sports-betting and online gaming,” says Wedge Index founder David Copeland.

“By according scores for each factor that makes up the Index, we can make a good approximation of the relative gaming friendliness of each state and also look at how forthcoming changes will affect that.”

As it stands, New Jersey tops the Wedge Index list with a current score of 116 followed by Pennsylvania and Colorado.

The Wedge Index top 10 gaming accessible states and points totals at launch

  • New Jersey – 116 points
  • Pennsylvania – 86 points
  • Colorado – 67 points
  • Indiana – 64 points
  • West Virginia – 60 points
  • Illinois – 55 points
  • Nevada – 41 points
  • Oregon – 39 points
  • Iowa – 35 points
  • New Hampshire – 34 points

“New Jersey is number one for a reason,” says Copeland. “As well as being the first to market with sports-betting and also with online casino, it has blazed a trail which other states are now following.”

“This is such a fast-moving space that there are pieces of news which could potentially affect the Wedge Index every day,” he said. “We’re delighted to be giving journalists access to a free resource which they can use to give some background to their stories about the progress of US sports-betting and gaming in their state.”

Flutter Entertainment, Scientific Games Renew To Celebrate 20th

Scientific Games Corporation secured a five-year contract renewal with long-term customer Flutter Entertainment plc to continue providing its OpenSports™ technology to the operators’ portfolio of global brands.

Flutter Entertainment is the world’s leading sports betting, gaming and entertainment provider serving over 13 million customers worldwide through its innovative, diverse and distinctive brands including FanDuel in the U.S., Paddy Power, Betfair and Sky Bet in the U.K. and Europe and SportsBet in Australia.

The five-year renewal comes on the back of FanDuel selecting Scientific Games to power their sportsbook offering across all current and future regulated markets in the U.S.

Flutter Entertainment and Scientific Games first partnered with Paddy Power in 2000 making this the 20th anniversary of the Companies’ partnership.  

Rik Barker, CIO at Flutter Entertainment UK & Ireland Division, said, “We’re very pleased to renew our partnership with Scientific Games. Whilst we take great pride in our proprietary technology and product development capabilities, Scientific Games’ OpenSports technology has been a key part of our sports betting platforms for many years. The reliability and scalability of their technology provides us with a robust platform to deliver on our strategic goals. As we enter a new era of sports betting, we’re looking forward to working with their world-class teams and technology to capitalize on the opportunities across our sector.”

Together, Flutter and Scientific Games teams have achieved a number of industry milestones. In 2010, Paddy Power accepted its first Live Odds bets, and the following year saw the sportsbook become the first to launch the innovative Cashout feature, both powered by the OpenBetTM engine. Following the merger between Paddy Power and Betfair, the OpenSports team was heavily involved in the migration of the two brands onto a single customer platform. 

Jordan Levin, Group CEO, Digital at Scientific Games, said, “Flutter operates some of the world’s most innovative, diverse and distinctive sports betting and gaming brands. Over the last two decades, we’ve worked together through major shifts in technology, player expectations and the ramping up of U.S. sports betting where we partner with FanDuel. We share a common ambition to take podium positions in key regulated markets through responsible, engaging and safe player experiences.”

Pennies From Heaven

The latest Eilers-Fantini Game Performance Report for July isn’t about revenue, but about the breakdown of denominations and types of games offered on the floors of casinos that participate in its database (U.S. commercial casinos, 53 percent; tribal casinos 34 percent; and Canadian casinos, 13 percent). The data shows the overwhelming number of penny games… Read more »

The post Pennies From Heaven appeared first on GGB Magazine.

TCSJohnHuxley Launches Diamond Rotor

London-based table game supplier TCSJohnHuxley has released the Saturn Auto Diamond Rotor roulette wheel, which incorporates all the features of the existing Saturn Auto wheel, but offers an additional option that not only incorporates a striking design, but also produces a wider variation of bounce as the ball travels around the wheel. This increased bounce… Read more »

The post TCSJohnHuxley Launches Diamond Rotor appeared first on GGB Magazine.

UCLA Athletics Tabs Fast-Growing Sports Nutrition Brand Ready Nutrition As Official Protein

Ready® Nutrition (@ready nutrition), one of the fastest growing sports nutrition companies in America, announced today that it has signed a multi-year partnership with UCLA to become the Official Protein of UCLA Athletics.

As the Official Protein of UCLA Athletics, Ready® will be the exclusive provider of protein products to nearly 700 student-athletes in all 25 Bruin sports. Those products will include Ready’s all-natural, complete line of performance products including their well-known Ready® Protein Water, Bars, Powder and Plant-Based Functional Snacks.

“UCLA Athletics has such a rich tradition and I know they want the very best for their student-athletes. We are committed to helping them continue that tradition by supplying best-in-class products to meet the department’s nutritional goals for its athletes,” said Ready® Founder and President Pat Cavanaugh, himself a former student-athlete and University of Pittsburgh basketball team captain.

UCLA’s Director of Football Performance, Frank Wintrich, first became aware of Ready® Nutrition in 2019, when he had his student-athletes sample the products.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Ready® to the UCLA family,” added UCLA’s Alice and Nahum Lainer Family Director of Athletics Martin Jarmond. “We want to give our student-athletes every edge and opportunity to reach their potential and be elite. Nutrition is such an important factor in athletic performance.”

The relationship between UCLA Athletics and Ready® Nutrition was secured by UCLA Rose Bowl Sports Properties, the Bruins’ multimedia rights holder and locally based sponsorship team for Learfield IMG College. In complete collaboration with Jarmond and the athletic administration, UCLA Rose Bowl Sports Properties works with local, regional and national brands looking to align with the Bruins.

This is Ready® Nutrition’s second big splash in the Southern California market. Two-time pro football Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald was so impressed with their products that he signed on in 2019 as an investor and co-owner of the company. He was joined this past May by global basketball star and reigning MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo, who also became an investor and co-owner after using Ready’s products the past two seasons.

The Jose Effect: How Mourinho has altered the Sack Race odds

Yesterday’s surprising Premier League results included the headline-grabbing shock that Tottenham Hotspur lost at home to Everton. Not only was this the first time Spurs had lost at home in the league to Everton since 2012, but it was the worst possible start to the season for the Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho.

Mourinho has previously enjoyed a good track record at most clubs, although the pattern of his appointment and subsequent success, followed by his dismissal around three years later has become predictable in the extreme. It is said that in the first full season, Mourinho provides a major leap forward, buying many new players and developing his team into winners.

A trophy follows, before the real good times begin, around a who season of glorious success for that club. For Real Madrid it was the biggest goals haul in La Liga history and the title at Barcelona’s expense, as well as Pep Guardiola’s. At Inter Milan, it meant everything, Serie A, the Italian Cup and the Champions League, possibly Mourinho’s greatest club football achievement.

At Chelsea, that meant the title too, and at Manchester United, Jose Mourinho did bring home the UEFA Cup (or Europa League) for the first time in the club’s history to ‘complete the set’ of trophies won by the Old Trafford side.